Why a Blog About Panama?

Maybe you’re looking for a lower cost lifestyle. Maybe you’re concerned about where your country of origin is headed (politically, financially, etc). Or maybe you just want to re-invent yourself.

I subscribe to all the viewpoints above and, after doing much research, decided that Panama warranted my attention. So Good Husband (GH) and I visited Panama, made some connections, and took copious notes and photos. For us, this is an exploration “in progress.”

It will take many, many months and several visits for us to make any decisions. Actually, we’re too young to retire, so if we decide to move to Panama, earning an income is a MUST for us.

Along these lines, I have a successful portfolio management and insurance business here in the states. Do I keep the practice and travel back and forth? Can I find a client base in Panama? Can I find a client base amongst those who are considering expatriation? These are issues I want to explore as well. (So forgive me for promoting my services occasionally in the blogs I write, but when I do so, it is to get the reader to consider some important points, while I also see if there’s a role for me in my financial services capacity.)

If you’re like us (GH and me), you have a lot of questions about Panama:

• What are the different expat communities in Panama like?
• What are the costs ranges to live in Panama?
• What makes living in Panama desirable or undesirable?
• How will things change in the next few years, and how will US financial challenges impact Panama, a country with continuing close ties to the U.S.?
• How have the current expats seen Panama change over the past few years?
• What makes for a happy versus unhappy expat?

Hopefully, this blog will help answer those questions and more.

As the blog grows, I would also like it to develop into a resource to help people of like interests or needs to connect with one another. This may take the form of a bulletin board or it may be accomplished in some other way.

I welcome your comments, questions, emails and suggestions, both about expatriating and about the blog itself. I know not everything about expatriating to Panama is a positive, so constructive criticism is welcome as well. However, absolute negativity is neither objective nor helpful and will be removed from the site.

So, please visit often and be a part of this couple’s expatriation exploration of Panama!

Sincerely, Marta & Dave (aka the Good Husband!)